This invention relates generally to storage devices and systems for containing emergency supplies of a type occasionally required by automotive vehicles. More particularly, this invention relates to a compact and space efficient utility chest adapted to receive and store a range of emergency supply items within the trunk of a standard passenger vehicle or the like.
Utility chests for use with automotive vehicles are generally known in the art for receiving and storing tools and/or emergency supply items. In the past, such utility chests have been designed primarily for use with trucks, such as emergency tow trucks and the like, to provide the vehicle operator with immediate access to a range of tools and emergency supply items. For example, in a roadside emergency situation, a variety of different supply items may be necessary or desirable for safety and/or repair purposes. Typical emergency supply items include fuel, oil, coolant, water, battery jumper cables, safety flares, a fire extinguisher, first aid kit, etc.
Standard passenger automobiles have not been designed to carry any significant number of emergency supply items. This fact is due in part to the relatively minimal trunk storage space provided with many modern downsized passenger vehicles. Nevertheless, in anticipation of occasional roadside emergencies, many vehicle owners tend to stock and carry selected emergency supply items. Unfortunately, such emergency items are normally stored within the trunk and/or at other locations within the vehicle in a loose, unorganized fashion. Storage chests of the type used with trucks and other larger vehicles have generally been incompatible with the trunk space limitations in a passenger vehicle.
Unorganized storage of emergency supply items within the trunk of a passenger vehicle creates a variety of potential problems and safety hazards. For example, randomly stored supply items can be difficult to find in the event of an actual emergency. Moreover, liquid storage vessels for fuel, oil, coolant and the like can encounter leakage to create a fire hazard and/or undesirably cause damage to the vehicle trunk and its contents. These hazards are compounded when the liquid vessels are unrestrained against shifting about within the trunk in the course of normal driving movements.
There exists, therefore, a significant need for a compact storage device adapted to fit into the compact trunk space of a standard passenger vehicle or the like, wherein the storage device is designed for safe and organized storage of a wide variety of emergency supply items. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.